Diet
New treatment may cure food allergiesA team of scientists from across Europe are embarking on new research to develop a treatment for food allergy.
Diabetes drug rosiglitazone linked to higher heart failure riskOlder adults who take the diabetes medication rosiglitazone appear to have a higher risk of death and heart failure than those taking the related medication pioglitazone, according to a report in the November 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Weight loss maintenance through telephone is effectiveFace-to-face and telephone follow-up sessions appear to be more effective in the maintenance of weight loss for women from rural communities compared with weight loss education alone, according to a report in the November 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Hairspray use during pregnancy may cause birth defect in newbornWomen who are exposed to hairspray in the workplace during pregnancy have more than double the risk of having a son with the genital birth defect hypospadias, according to a new study published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Yeast to identify drugs for Alzheimer's diseaseCSIRO scientists have developed a new system to screen for compounds that can inhibit one of the processes that takes place during the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
Genetic screening for diabetes not helpfulScreening for a panel of gene variants associated with the risk for type 2 diabetes can identify adults at risk for the disorder but is not significantly better than assessment based on traditional risk factors such as weight, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Lilly donated Insulin to International Diabetes Federation's Life for a Child ProgramEli Lilly and Company announced it intends to donate more than 800,000 vials of insulin to the International Diabetes Federation's Life for a Child Program, providing free life-saving medicine to as many as 24,000 children who currently have no access to diabetes treatment.
Nicole Johnson takes action for type 1 diabetes researchDiabetes in Children and Adolescents has particular urgency for former Miss America Nicole Johnson. Nicole has served as an international spokesperson for diabetes issues for more than 8 years. She has worked tirelessly promoting awareness, prevention and early detection of the hidden killer, diabetes.
Calcium, vitamin D may not reduce breast cancer riskTaking calcium and vitamin D supplements does not reduce breast cancer incidence in postmenopausal women, according to data from a randomized, doubled-blind, placebo-controlled trial published online November 11 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Factors identified causing barriers to asthma careBarriers to managing asthma include access to appropriate care, patient adherence, distrust of the medical profession, delayed asthma diagnosis, culture, lifestyle choices and genetic discrepancies according to experts at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Seattle.
Mislabeled ReliOn Insulin Syringes recalled in USThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration is notifying health care professionals and patients that Tyco Healthcare Group LP (Covidien) is recalling one lot of ReliOn sterile, single-use, disposable, hypodermic syringes with permanently affixed hypodermic needles due to possible mislabeling.
Cost of diabetes treatment doubled in USBecause of the increased number of patients, growing reliance on multiple medications and the shift toward more expensive new medicines, the annual cost of diabetes drugs nearly doubled in only six years, rising from $6.7 billion in 2001 to $12.5 billion in 2007 according to a study in the Oct. 27, 2008, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Purple, high anthocyanin tomatoes offer protection against certain cancersScientists have expressed genes from snapdragon in tomatoes to grow purple tomatoes high in health-protecting anthocyanins.
Live cell therapy clinical trial in New Zealand for diabeticsLiving Cell Technologies Limited (ASX: LCT; OTCQX: LVCLY) announced that New Zealand Health Minister, the Honorable David Cunliffe, has approved an application from the company to conduct in New Zealand a Phase I/IIa clinical trial of DiabeCell®, LCT's lead product candidate for the treatment of insulin dependent (Type 1) diabetes.
Eating fast may make you overweight and obeseThe combination of eating quickly and eating until full trebles the risk of being overweight, according to a study published on bmj.com - site of British Medical Journal, UK.
Gut bacteria helps control body weight and obesityA single molecule in the intestinal wall, activated by the waste products from gut bacteria, plays a large role in controlling whether the host animals are lean or fatty, a research team, including scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center, has found in a mouse study.
Fatty acids linked to Alzheimer's diseaseScientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) and the University of California have found that complete or partial removal of an enzyme that regulates fatty acid levels improves cognitive deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
US FDA assessed melamine and melamine compounds in foodThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the results of its interim safety and risk assessment of melamine and melamine-related compounds in food, including infant formula.
Palliative care access varies widely in USThere has been rapid growth of new, innovative palliative care consultation services in the US's hospitals. More than half of the 50-bed or larger hospitals in the U.S. offer palliative care services to ease pain and suffering for seriously ill patients and their families.
Brain pathway responsible for obesity discoveredUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, for the first time, have found a messaging system in the brain that directly affects food intake and body weight.
Breakfast cereals are excessively sugaryAre you one of those adults who keep a box of Frosted Flakes or Froot Loops hidden in the cupboard? Such sugary cereals are heavily marketed to children, to the tune of about $229 million advertising dollars per year. But an estimated 58 percent of "children's" cereals are consumed by the over-18 crowd.
Heart patients should be screened, treated for depressionHeart patients should be screened for depression -- a common condition that can profoundly affect both prognosis and quality of life -- according to the American Heart Association's first scientific statement on depression and coronary heart disease.
Vitamin C supplements reduce benefits of anti cancer drugsIn pre-clinical studies, vitamin C appears to substantially reduce the effectiveness of anticancer drugs, say researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Colon cancer's genetic link to obesityA new study reveals the first-ever genetic link between obesity and colon cancer risk, a finding that could lead to greater accuracy in testing for the disease, said a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Glucosamine, chondroitin no better than placebo in osteoarthritisThe dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate performed no better than placebo in slowing the rate of cartilage loss in the knees of osteoarthritis patients, revealed by researchers at University of Utah.
Audio relaxation program may help lower blood pressureAn audio relaxation program lowered blood pressure more than a Mozart sonata in a group of elderly people with high blood pressure, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 62nd Annual Fall Conference of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research.
Stomach bacteria protect against type 1 diabetesIn a dramatic illustration of the potential for microbes to prevent disease, researchers at Yale University and the University of Chicago showed that mice exposed to common stomach bacteria were protected against the development of Type I diabetes.
Poor weight loss in some after gastric bypass surgeryIndividuals with diabetes and those whose stomach pouches are larger appear less likely to successfully lose weight after gastric bypass surgery, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Exercise reduces obesity risk in genetically predisposedIndividuals who have a genetic mutation associated with high body mass index (BMI) may be able to offset their increased risk for obesity through physical activity, according to a report in the September 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Mosquitoes dislike smell DEET repellentMosquitoes flee from DEET-based insect repellent because of their intense dislike for the smell of the chemical repellent and not because DEET jams their sense of smell, report researchers at the University of California, Davis.
Arsenic exposure could increase diabetes riskInorganic arsenic, commonly found in ground water in certain areas, may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Eat oily fish to protect your eyesight in old ageEating oily fish once a week may reduce age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which is the major cause of blindness and poor vision in adults in western countries and the third cause of global blindness, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Eating fish may prevent memory loss and stroke in old ageEating tuna and other types of fish may help lower the risk of cognitive decline and stroke in healthy older adults, according to a study published in the August 5, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Lower cholesterol early in lifeWith heart disease maintaining top billing as the leading cause of death in the United States, a team of University of California, San Diego School of Medicine physician-researchers is proposing that aggressive intervention to lower cholesterol levels as early as childhood is the best approach available today to reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease.
Broccoli may help heart in diabetes patientsResearchers claim that a compound found in brassica vegetables such as broccoli could undo the damage caused by diabetes to heart blood vessels.
Vitamin C injections slow tumor growthHigh-dose injections of vitamin C, also known as ascorbate or ascorbic acid, reduced tumor weight and growth rate by about 50 percent in mouse models of brain, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report in the August 5, 2008, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Drug identified to enhance exercise endurance, mimic exercise effectsResearchers have identified drugs that mimic many of the physiological effects of exercise. The drugs increase the ability of cells to burn fat and are the first compounds that have been shown to enhance exercise endurance.
California Governor Schwarzenegger signed Trans Fat BillCalifornia Governor signed AB 97 by Asm. Mendoza, which will phase out the use of trans fats in all CA restaurants beginning in 2010. Scientific evidence demonstrates a strong association between the consumption of artificial trans fat and the development of coronary heart disease and stroke.
Men and women needs different dietsGender plays a major role in determining which diet is better suited to promoting longer life or reproductive success, revealed by researchers from the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney and Massey University.
Eyes could serve as early warning of diabetesA new vision screening device, already shown to give an early warning of eye disease, could give doctors and patients a head start on treating diabetes and its vision complications, a new study shows.
Children's food products provide poor nutritional qualityNine out of ten regular food items aimed specifically at children have a poor nutritional content – because of high levels of sugar, fat or sodium - according to a detailed study of 367 products published in the July issue of the UK-based journal Obesity Reviews.
Nut products during pregnancy increases asthma risk in childrenExpectant mothers who eat nuts or nut products like peanut butter daily during pregnancy increase their children's risk of developing asthma by more than 50 percent over women who rarely or never consume nut products during pregnancy, according to new research from the Netherlands.
Exercise may prevent Early Alzheimer's diseaseMild Alzheimer's disease patients with higher physical fitness had larger brains compared to mild Alzheimer's patients with lower physical fitness, according to a study published in the July 15, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Keeping a food diary doubles weight lossKeeping a food diary can double a person's weight loss according to a study from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research. The findings, from one of the largest and longest running weight loss maintenance trials ever conducted, will be published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
California to phase-out artificial trans fat from restaurantsThe passage in the California State Senate of a measure to phase out the use of artificial trans fat in restaurants puts the state on track to being the first in the nation to adopt this life-saving measure.
FDA should take steps to challenge bogus immunity claimsUS Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) urges FDA to crack down on food frauds saying that Kraft, General Mills, Dole, & others ripping off consumers with bogus immunity claims.
Broccoli rich diet prevents prostate cancerFor the first time, a UK research group at the Institute of Food Research led by Professor Richard Mithen has provided an explanation of how eating broccoli might reduce cancer risk based upon studies in men, as opposed to trying to extrapolate from animal models.
Red wine may ward off effects of age on heart, bones, eyes and musclesLarge doses of a red wine ingredient can ward off many of the vagaries of aging in mice who begin taking it at midlife, according to a new report published online on July 3rd in Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. Those health improvements of the chemical known as resveratrol-including cardiovascular benefits, greater motor coordination, reduced cataracts and better bone density-come without necessarily extending the animals' lifespan.
Type 1 diabetes rising in Australian childrenThe incidence of new cases of Type 1 diabetes in children is rising at around 3% a year, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Rimonabant guidance for overweight and obese patientsThe UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published final guidance on the use of rimonabant for the treatment of overweight and obese patients.